Government's Role in Marriage

The institution of marriage as the union of one man and one woman has been fundamental to America ever since the founding of our nation. When the famous French commentator Alexis de Toqueville traveled the United States in the early-19th century, he recognized the fact that respect for marriage is very American. He wrote: "There is certainly no country in the world where the tie of marriage is more respected than in America, or where conjugal happiness is more highly or worthily appreciated."


Not only do American laws specifically recognize marriage as the union of one man and one woman, many laws legislate special benefits for the institution of marriage. The Government Accountability Office identified more than 1,000 federal laws that are based on the traditional definition of marriage, including the tax laws that permit married couples the advantage off filing joint income tax returns and the Social Security benefits awarded to fulltime homemakers.

Attacks on the definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman come from the gay lobby seeking social recognition of their lifestyle, from the feminist movement that opposes what they call the patriarchy, and also from some libertarians who believe marriage should be merely a private affair, none of the government's business. These libertarians want to deny government the right to define marriage, set its standards, or issue marriage licenses.

Tell your Libertarian friends that you believe government should have a very important role in defining who may get a license to marry. In America, it is a criminal offense to marry more than one person at a time, or to marry a child or a close relative, even though such practices are common in some foreign countries. We hope these laws will continue to be enforced in the United States.

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